#NailTechNailedIt: Week 1

As you may or may not know, I'm now a nail tech student, working toward a certification as a licensed nail tech. What I'll do with that isn't quite clear yet, but the plans I have for it are wildly racing around in my head.

I enrolled in Long's Peak Academy, a beauty school offering esthetician, cosmetologist, hair stylist, and nail technology degrees in Longmont, Colorado. As I'm not interested in any other aspects of a cosmetologist career, I chose the solo nail track, but you can do all three for a full cosmetology degree if you want.

The school seems nice so far. I've only been around at night, when it's pretty empty, but it seems fine. Except when it comes to polish. My goodness is the polish color selection sad! For being an OPI-sponsored school, it seems OPI has forgotten to send out polish resupplies. There's plenty of reds and pinks, and some random colors here and there, but it's nowhere near what I was expecting. Maybe I'll send a shoutout to OPI, in the hopes they'll donate a few of their newer collections to the education cause.

I also still haven't gotten my kit (with all the tools I need) or my books (to study for tests), so I've been borrowing supplies from the school. These shared supplies could certainly use a little TLC.

The program I chose works wonderfully for me. It's the last time this school is offering night classes since the enrollment numbers at night are low. I'm lucky enough to be one of the last to be on that track, along with my nail classmate, Rachel.

We're learning the ins and outs of all things nails through our textbook and the instruction of our teacher, Concha. We meet every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night from 5:30 to 9:30 to work on practical and factual skills. Works wonderfully with my 9-5 job!

Even though we're only in week one, Rachel and I have already learned nail structure, health-related issues, and the basic manicure. Last night, I practiced the basic mani routine on Rachel with oversight from Concha. Here are the results (courtesy of Rachel):

I didn't use my usual angled paint brush cleanup, and didn't do much cleanup at all for that matter. It takes much longer than an at-home mani because there's soaking, massage, clipping, cuticle-pushing, and everything in between. Certainly more to it than I ever imagined!

It's so exciting for me. Since it's the only track I care about, I can really throw myself into it. Concha and Rachel are probably sick to death of my constant questions and furious note-taking.

You may think it'd be boring and tedious, but it's really insightful. Sure, I can paint nails and do designs, but what do I know about the proper procedure that is actually given on the state board exam in both practical skills and knowledge tests? Honestly...less than I thought.

One thing I'm going to have to un-learn from my years of blogging is how to properly file the nail. Apparently, the one direction technique you always hear about in the blogosphere is technically incorrect. In fact, our textbook instructs us to file from corners to center. So one side of your nail will be filed one way, and an invisible, vertical line down the middle divides the other side of your nail, where you'll file the other way. Who knew?

Well, I suppose everyone who's ever read the textbook knew.

Tomorrow will be my first full day of clinic duty. No scalpels or surgery though. The 'clinic' is what the school calls the client floor, where clients and students receive services from students. The floor is made up of plenty of hair stations, a few mani tables, a few pedi seats, and a place for facials and waxing in the back. I'll obviously be focused on a very select part of the clinic.

If you're within traveling distance of Longmont, please feel free to stop by, and ask for Katy. The more practice in the clinic we get, the better, and there needs to be a LOT of practice to meet the criteria for graduation.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, I'm happy to answer them!

Yes! Although I don't think that's required for passing the test. It's just required in the school I'm going to. (I'll be able to tell you more about that once I take something called "The Baby Board", which is something my school offers as a sort of prep for the actual board.)

I asked the first day if wearing gloves was acceptable. They said yes. So there's that at least.

in Australia it is technically illegal to not wear gloves when doing a pedi - I wouldn't ever think of not wearing gloves with doing a pedi! But because you soak the feet in warm water they're not nearly as bad as people think it is!

I think you should do it! Yes, blogging will take a backseat to my paid and paying priorities, but I can still do it on weekends, and I'll want to be sharing the manis I do with the world to build a portfolio. Think of it as an investment in your future, not a time-suck for the next few months. It'll go by quick (at least it has for me).

My school offers classes for the first 16 weeks, then I'm supposed to be in the clinic, giving real clients real manis and pedis. At that point, I'll need to start taking days off of work since the clinic hours are during the day. The company I work for is flexible about this though, and we'll cross that bridge when I come to it. So if you're in a position of flexibility, now would be the time to consider it. If you're not, then you'll need to do some serious planning to ensure everything's balanced.

I I'm 6 weeks into my 12 week course. I'm in MA and we require 150 hours. How many hours does your state require? I go from Monday through Thursday from 6-9:30 and the cost is $2000 with the kit and textbooks included.

I feel you on "more than you ever imagined" part. I never thought I'd say it but doing my own manis is a TON easier than doing someone else's...even my non-dominant hand lol.

I'm amazed how much I'm learning. Oh and I would most certainly givve up blogging everyday and stick to just weekends to do this. Not that I blog everyday anyway. I work too and while it is a bit tiring, my hours give me time to go home, get dinner and have a little relaxation time before school. It's really not bad at all.

It's a little funky. They require 600 clock hours, which is 20 credit hours. The credit is the important part out here in Colorado.

My blogging has fallen off recently, and I don't kick myself for not doing it because I know that coming home at 10:00 leaves hardly any time to do that, so I forgive myself. Weekends will be my much needed down-time.

Best of luck in your schooling! Mine's shaping up to be 9 months, so I've got a long way to go!

Hi, Donna, if I may ask, what school do you attend? I was just poking around online and saw that Lawrence has a six-week program (and that's near where I live), but I have no idea if that's any good. I'm kind of considering it, though; I need a life change. :)

I I'm 6 weeks into my 12 week course. I'm in MA and we require 150 hours. How many hours does your state require? I go from Monday through Thursday from 6-9:30 and the cost is $2000 with the kit and textbooks included.

I feel you on "more than you ever imagined" part. I never thought I'd say it but doing my own manis is a TON easier than doing someone else's...even my non-dominant hand lol.

I'm amazed how much I'm learning. Oh and I would most certainly givve up blogging everyday and stick to just weekends to do this. Not that I blog everyday anyway. I work too and while it is a bit tiring, my hours give me time to go home, get dinner and have a little relaxation time before school. It's really not bad at all.

Wow, what a difference between states. No matter which school I contacted and there are 6 here I could have chosen from, it's all the same...150 hours with certification at the end. We have 1-1/2 hours of book lessons, mostly sanitation and anatomy/health, and the rest is hands-on for each class. I can't imagine what about it could go on for 9 months other than pratice and fine-tuning your skills. Our 2 hour hands-on is dealing with regular people who come in to get complimentary manis so students can learn. A lot of older women that time of night lol and we have a senior center who lends us clients and the local high school has a standing thing where we get a few high school girls in. They let us keep tips if the clients tip us but the older ladies never do lol. There are 5 people in my class.

After learning this is going to take you the better part of a year, I'm seriously glad MA is only 150 hours! How much is the whole thing costing you?

I think all the schools here are the same, but it varies state-by-state.

The 9 months is going to be a lot of hands-on practice. But like I said, it's all about fulfilling the requirements for the school. If I'm there every day, doing something every day, I'll finish sooner.

We will also be dealing with clients, who come in for a highly discounted rate to get services. The school is a salon that offers skin, hair, and nails, so clients can come in and get all that done. The services are not complimentary though...just super cheap. ($8 for a regular mani.) We get to keep tips too, but it's not guaranteed that we'll receive tips from the clients.

I mentioned this in my first post, but the cost is $7235. Pretty steep!

I am guessing Concha and Rachel are -thrilled- with your Qs. Really. I sometimes teach and it can be really dull if you are just lecturing and no one is asking Qs. And of course, I love chatting about my area of expertise.

Sucks that they focus on the reds and pinks. The salon that carries Zoya near me only keeps those type of colours from the core collection. Blech. C'mon Opi, pony up!

Hi...I have a question that I have my fingers crossed you might ask in your class and reply with the answer from your instructor: You wrote, "Apparently, the one direction technique you always hear about in the blogosphere is technically incorrect. In fact, our textbook instructs us to file from corners to center." I actually have read on several blogs that the direction(s) to file depends upon the filing tool being used. Specifically, that if the file is made of glass or crystal, those materials are kind enough to the nail to allow for filing in either direction (like the way you are currently being taught), but that if the file is an "old-fashioned" emery board, then you should only file in one direction because that material is so coarse that it damages the nail if you file any other way. What files are you using in your school? If they are glass/crystal, perhaps that's why you are being taught contrary to the "usual" method. Would you mind checking with Concha and letting us know? Thank you for considering this! Delphi Michaels

I'm as excited to read about your experience as I have always been in your nail art—if not more! I've read about people who have gone straight to licensing out of school, but I'm really interested in your perspective as a polish hobbyist with a separate 9-5 job who's starting on the professional cosmetology track. It's something I've wondered a lot about, myself, though it didn't take long to realize it's not really for me. I love painting my own nails, and sometimes I'll do my mom's or a close friend's, but I know it would be a career with too much face time for me . . . which makes me sound like an antisocial jerk, I guess! I'm just an introvert; I like working independently in a mostly quiet, semiprivate environment, while polish is something I like to do on my own.

What textbook is required? Since my chosen (quiet, semiprivate) profession is academic publishing, I'm very curious!

That's good you figured it out! I love interacting with clients in the service industry. It may sound odd, but when I worked at a video store (back when those were around), I loved having face-to-face contact with the customers. I like to make people feel good, and what's a better way to make them feel good than to give them a luxurious massage and a cute mani?

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